Casting

Shay Bentley-Griffin, CSA

Casting Director

Under the banner of The Chez Agency, Shay Bentley-Griffin began her career as a successful talent agent, launching the careers of many actors in soaps, television series, and feature films. She later moved forward to establish Chez Casting, Inc. and quickly became a prolific casting director for film and television.

In her distinguished career, Shay Bentley-Griffin has cast over 225 television and feature film projects, including Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk,Kill The Messenger, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, The Watsons Go To Birmingham, and the miniseries Coma produced by Mark Zucker, each of which was a showcase for Georgia talent appearing in almost 80 percent of the roles. Bentley-Griffin also cast the critically acclaimed feature films Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Remember the Titans, and Sweet Home Alabama.

She was the Casting Director on eight seasons of In the Heat of the Night and the Peabody Award-winning series I'll Fly Away. Through her career, she has worked with numerous directors such as Clint Eastwood, Kenny Leon, Ang Lee, Shawn Levy, Adam McKay, Tyler Perry, Sam Raimi, Wes Craven, Jon Avnet, and Edward Zwick.

Shay is a recipient of the Crystal Obelisk Award from the Casting Society of America, and she is also a three-time Emmy nominee for her work in casting.

Shay has served the State of Georgia as Film Liaison to Los Angeles and Vice Chair of the Governor’s Film and Entertainment Advisory Board. She was the first president of the Georgia Production Partnership and continues to sit on its executive board, and she is also a board member for the Rome International Film Festival. She is a member of Women in Film International, a proud member of the Casting Society of America, a member of the Cattlemen’s Association, Agribusiness, and the Farm Bureau. Shay also co-chaired the committee that created and worked to pass the Georgia Tax Credit in 2008, which gave Georgia the opportunity to flourish in a booming new film industry.

Shay continues to create challenging career opportunities, as she is now in development on the television series The Land We Love, which unites her love of both film and farming.